Snow shovel



United States Patent 3,328,067 SNOW SHOVEL James V. Winkler, Midland,Miclm, assignor to The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., acorporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 13, 1965, Ser. No. 495,530 1 Claim.(Cl. 294-54) This invention relates to material handling devices andmore particularly concerns an improved shovel for handling snow.

The object of the present invention is to provide as an article ofmanufacture a specially prepared shovel device, the blade of which is oftreated magnesium base metal, having improved snow-handling qualities inthat snow will not prematurely slip therefrom nor excessively adherethereto whether being lifted or pushed.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved snow shovelwhich permits easier handling of snow.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved magnesiumsnow-handling device with improved corrosion and abrasion resistance.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one embodiment of the present novelshovel article of the invention as specially treated; which whenconsidered in view of the following detailed description will serve toillustrate the invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a pusher type shovel, having a curvedblade treated in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the shovel blade of FIG. 1showing the base metal and anodized coating.

The present novel shovel article comprises a snow shovel, equipped withan elongated handle which may either be of wood or metal or othersuitable material, and a blade of anodized magnesium base metal. Theanodizing of the magnesium or magnesium base alloy article (such as ashovel blade) usually is carried out by the process set forth in US.Patent 2,901,409. This is well known in the magnesium finishing art asthe Dow No. 17 process. In this process the blade is contacted with anaqueous solution at a temperature between 150 F. and the boiling pointof the solution, at a voltage suificient to produce sparking between thesurface of the article and the solution. This aqueous anodizing solutionconsists of water in which is dissolved water-soluble inorganiccompounds yielding the radicals ammonium, fluoride, phosphate, sodium,and hexavalent chromium in amount sulficient to produce in the solutionan ammonium concentration between 3.2 and 15 percent, a fluorideconcentration of at least 6 percent, a phosphorous concentrationcalculated as P0 between 2 and 10 percent, -a sodium concentrationbetween 0.3 and 5.0 percent, and a hexavalent chromium concentrationbetween 0.3 and 5.0 percent, and sufficient mineral acid to give thesolution a pH of 0.5 to 4, the anodizing being continued for a timesuflicient to give the surface of the article a tan or green color.Although the process taught in US. Patent 2,901,409 ordinarily is usedin preparing the present novel article, it should be understood thatother anodizing treatments for magnesium and magnesium alloys whichprovide an anodized surface having substantially the same properties andcharacteristics as the Dow No. 17 process can be used.

The term magnesium base metal as used herein means the pure andcommercial primary magnesium metal and magnesium base alloys in whichthe magnesium content is at least about percent by weight.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown a pusher type snow shovelcomprising a long handle 10 rigidly but removably connected by a bracket12 and bolt 14 to a curved magnesium base metal plate 16 having ananodized surface 18. If desired, of course, the surface of the blade notnormally used to displace the snow need not be anodized.

The present novel material handling device is highly useful as a pusheror lifter type snow shovel in removing or displacing snow inasmuch asits anodized blade provides, highly desirable snow-holding and handlingqualities (i.e., holding and releasing) by being sufficiently sticky oradherent to snow to prevent premature slippage of said snow therefrombut sufficiently non-adherent or slippery enough to avoid excessivesticking-on of the snow. In addition, the blade of the shovelso-anodized is corrosion and abrasion resistant.

The following example serves to illustrate the utility of the inventionand the improved snow-handling qualities thereof:

Example 1 Actual use of six experimental shovels prepared in accordancewith the present invention, all of the same shape, size and bladethickness, gave evidence of the superior qualities of these shovels inrespect to the easy handling of snow while either pushing or liftingwhen compared to use of conventional shovels whose blade surfaces wereof metallic aluminum, unanodized magnesium, painted or plastic coatedmetal. Most of the conventional shovels were so slippery that the snowload slid off prematurely at low angles to the horizontal, or so stickythat the snow load tended to cling too long to the shovel surface evenat high angles to the horizontal. The anodized shovel blade inaccordance with the present invention, however, reportedly exhibitedjust the right stickiness factor to provide unusually good snow control.

Example II In order to quantitatively, or at least more definitively,indicate the improvement in the snow-handling qualities of the presentnovel anodized shovel article, i.e., a desirable non-stickiness withouteither the stickiness or slippage associated with conventional snowshovel blades; various tests were performed as follows: a number ofsheet metal channel sections were prepared to determine the angles ofinclination to the horizontal at which snow would slide oil or beretained on said sections. The snowcontacting surface included anodizedmagnesium, unanodized aluminum, unanodized magnesium, a conventionallypainted magnesium surface, two magnesium surfaces with standardnon-anodized chemical treatments, and anodized aluminum. The temperatureduring the tests was 36 F., and the relative humidity was 40 percent.

Though a very small amount of snow tended to stick to all the surfacestested, the tests showed that the angles varied from, e.g., 10 to butthat in every case the anodized magnesium varied midway between theseextremes, with the average angle over several tests being about 33. Inactual tests with the present novel shovel, this 'blade angle proved tobe very effective and desirable along with the general snow-handlingproperties of the anodized magnesium shovel. The shovel provided withthe ski wax was extremely slippery, so much so that it was largelyineffective for 'use in handling snow. The painted APlO shovel, on theother hand, in actual shovelling operations was found to be too stickyand its eflicient use for handling snow was limited.

1 Trade name and particular pain't composition designation of M & '1Chemicals, Inc.

2 Ferric nitrate bright pickle includes treatment in an aqueous solutioncomprising chromic acid, ferric nitrate, and potassium fluoride asdescribed in bulletin entitled Magnesium ggrigshing, page 69, publishedby The Dow Chemical 00.,

3 Chrome pickle includes treatment in an aqueous solution comprisingsodium dichromate and nitric acid as described in bulletin entitledMagnesium Finishing, page 53, published by The Dow Cehmical Co., 1963.

These tests support and substantiate under controlled test conditionsthe marked improvement in snow-handling qualities of the anodizedmagnesium as used in shovels of the present invention in comparison toshovels of bare magnesium or aluminum, or with other of the commonlyused finishes.

The present invention may be modified and changed without departing fromthe spirit or scope thereof, and it is understood that the invention isonly limited as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

An article of manufacture comprising a snow shovel having an elongatedhandle angularly connected to a magnesium base metal blade, at least theload carrying surface of said blade being anodized so as to retard andprevent premature slippage of shoveled snow carried thereon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 127,405 6/ 1872 Butler 294492,183,976 12/1939 Smith 294-54 GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

G. F. ABRAHAM, Assistant Examiner.

